First I apologize for not contributing to the Zelda talk in here the other day... I feared for WW spoilers when talk of dungeon volume came up so I opted to not read a post or two even though I was the one who brought it up.

On the Wind Walker note... Earth Temple... FAR more agrivating than it was cool. I loved every dungeon and puzzle thus far with the exception of that place. Guiding Midli seemed like a cool angle for a different type of dungeon experience until in execution it was really just a matter of repeating the same tune over and over again room after room. The light reflecting puzzles only added insult to injury in this dungeon. The ultimate problem was each room/puzzle was obvious and easy to solve and just a pain to execute. No legitimate challenge, just a test of patience really.

Its back to retro gaming weekend now! Chrono Trigger here I come. I just through Magus Castle last week. If I recall, I didn't like this little prehistoric segment though I'm fairly enticed to plow through it and get to the rest of the retro-joy beyond it.

Friends are easy to make. I love talking to people and learning about them. I mean take Akanbe- for instance. Unforgettable conversations during our playthrough of Army of Two and Saints Row Three! I found his talk about his job (paralegal) to be fascinating and his kids Jenna and Steve sound like delights.

I must concur... I share yoda's fascination with other people. One of my favorite parts about being a tattoo artist is getting so personally acquainted with so many different people. It really gives me an opportunity to get a very personal insight into someones life in a very brief period of time. You'd be amazed at how people open up to you whilst endorphins are coursing through their veins while they endure the act of getting tattooed.

Now, while a lot of my clients qualify as friends, at the end of the day true friends are indeed a rarity for me. I've only had 4 people who come to mind as true companions in life, none of which are in the picture (regretfully so) at present. If you've got someone in your life with whom you feel you have that caliber of connection with, best keep em around. Take it from a lonely bastard like me! LoL

The designs are nevertheless appealing and unique. Sure, maybe the point of "fantasy" is to do things you can't do in real life.... BUT FUCK SEYMOURS HAIRDO, it's dumb, impossible, and silly no matter what fantasy is preaching. >:(

I'm looking at this way too much; but I suppose it's my "job" as an "arsty" person. *shrug*

Completely agree on seymour. There is no element of realism nor aesthetic to that hair. In fact, in spite of the praise for being so "perty", I found most X's designs and characters to be less inspiring than other games in the franchise.

And the path to becoming a better artist IMO is most certainly interwoven with being critical of art and visuals. I don't think artists can "look to much" or be "too picky".

Well the end game grind in Disgaea has come to an end. I over-prepared for the final boss it seems.... finally gave him a go and totally trumped him. The ending, while appropriate, was pretty weak IMO. Given the excessive amount of time I spent with D2 over the last few weeks I am going to be taking a break before I touch post game shtuff.

Getting back to Wind Waker.

I must say, I really never thought I would be so enthralled be Zelda again. Wind Waker really offers a non-Zelda flavor though. I can see why fans of the franchise were torn on this title. While I love it, it certainly doesn't "feel" quite like my other hyrulian experiences (or what I can remember of them).

That aside, this game has to have some of the best freakin' dungeons I have ever explored. In fact, I think I dislike sailing and exploration only because of how I eager I am to get to the temples/dungeons.

Just figured out how to get into both the Earth and Wind temples but have yet to do so. Also, just today, aquired to power to control cyclones and fast travel a bit. The cyclone control made me so happy I could cry... LoL

The level of uniqueness you can achieve with her appearance and ability setups is said to be “entertaining and stunning”. The reviewer also states that the game is quite beautiful.[/i]www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=89626842

Call me shallow because well.... I am... but that aside, this particular fact is what entices me so. The character of Lightning, in and of herself, is the most attractive quality of the XIII universe to me (even if she clearly is just a female Cloud Strife). Getting some creative control of her appearance and development is going to really lend to the "fun factor" for me.

Chrono Trigger for my retro weekend agenda: Magus Castle.... utter awesomeness... playing segments of SNES rpgs like the aforementioned is like reconnecting with the "why" or "causation" of a great and passionate love. No, I am not exaggerating in the least be that sad or not.

Also familiarized myself with some of the translation changes in Chrono that I was unaware of. Magus' henchman original condiment names are way more "toriyama character" appropriate IMO.

Disgaea D2: End game grind to beat the final boss is going well. Bagged myself three legendary and retarded-over-powered swords in the item world today. Lady luck is on my side!!! I'm hoping after the real life grind this evening (work) I can manage to see the credits roll on D2.

Most of the plot in FFXIII felt pretty irrelevant in FFXIII-2 though. Only thing that seemed important was the epilogue.

We can go for hours if you want talking about this.

Long story short though is that XIII wasn't a trilogy at first but then XIV 1.0 and other shenanigans happened at SQEX and the story was expanded. Was that bad? No. Should people be all nitpicky about it? Yeah why not, but you know how opinions work in the Internet.

Point is that the story was expanded in a nice way and the connection of the three games goes as far as it need to go to leave every game to be its own thing in the process.

Didn't mean it in a bad way. Just saying that Klyde will not be missing much if he goes into FFXIII-2 without having a great memory of the first game.

I had no idea there were novels... that info is golden my friend. I will totally be checking those out.

I don't know why it seems that I have utterly and completely eradicated my recall of XIII. I just didn't enjoy it and I can't even come up with a decent argument as to why. It just really WAS NOT my cup of tea I suppose. I remember clearly how grindy the last chapter felt. I also remember how relieved I was to see the credits roll, but thats about it.

I just realized how quickly this game is approaching and I have yet to get to XIII-2. Looks like it will be time to pop that in soon... I know this is not the right thread to be bringing up XIII-2 but how much of a departure from XIII can I be looking forward to? Also I heard really mixed things about how long the game is. If I get started on XIII-2 by mid december (gotta finish what I am playing now) will that be long enough to comfortably get through it in prep for lightning returns?

I cannot speak on the length as I have yet to complete it. What I can say is that it feels much more like a FF game. I'm in the same position, as I am trying to complete it before the next one is released. I've enjoyed what little I've played though. It's like they sat down and made a list of things that the lack of made XIII unlike a FF game, (moogles, Chocobos, non-linear dungeons, etc.) and then made sure to include them in this one. It is definitely light on story, and I hope you like time-travel.,,

If you enjoyed the battle system from XIII, don't mind some "cutsie" overtones, and can deal with the lack of plot, then you'll probably have a pretty good time with it.

That actually sounds pretty alright to me. I'm going to need to find a good synopsis of the plot of XIII before I jump into XIII-2 though... I can hardly recall the nuts and bolts of it. To be honest I didn't quite gather what the hell was going on even while I played it.

Odd. I wasn't that strong and I only had minimal trouble with the final boss. Were you trying to dive bomb him with multiple characters by any chance?

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You can't do that. His Evility allows him to steal stats, per character, for every step you walk in his AoE range.So basically unless you're utilizing range or 1v1-ing (with a healer outside of stealing range) you're giving him hugesurges of power per turn. If you avoid proc'ing his Evility then he's rather soft for a final boss.

Yes I quite aware of all that... I tried various strategies, including being cheap and lifting him each turn and still got dwarfed. My new strategy is reincarnate, re-grind my characters in the item world and eventually out-cheap-ify the bastard. If you can't beat the game, break the game right? LoL

I just realized how quickly this game is approaching and I have yet to get to XIII-2. Looks like it will be time to pop that in soon... I know this is not the right thread to be bringing up XIII-2 but how much of a departure from XIII can I be looking forward to? Also I heard really mixed things about how long the game is. If I get started on XIII-2 by mid december (gotta finish what I am playing now) will that be long enough to comfortably get through it in prep for lightning returns?

Ok, all I gotta say without becoming spoiler-ific is the final boss is FREAKIN' CHEAP!!

"Difficult spike" does not do it justice... I was over-powered to a point that enabled me to literally one hit everything in the final chapter yet could hardly touch the final boss. I like the fact that there is some challenge here but while the rest of the game had me thinking whilst grinding, this scenario has me STRICTLY grinding. I also feel like the final chapter's maps were rushed in contrast to the rest of the game.

All and all I loved D2 to be honest. In spite of its apparent faults, it struck the right chords with me. But I WILL NOT defend the nose dive the final chapter takes. The main campaign is coming to a close that feels very abrupt and "out of place" IMO. Maybe I will feel wee bit different once I actually beat the final boss and see the ending but I doubt it.

Getting fed up with Disgaea D2. The game freezes up so often that it has become virtually impossible to continue. Right now I'm stuck at 5-1, because the enemy's Giga Fire freezes up my PS3 every single goddamn time! I've played shitty shovelware with bothersome bugs than this...

Man, I've been reading about that and have been lucky I suppose. 9-4 and not one freeze yet. These old launch model ps3's run like magic I tell ya!

What could be the reason that a game could cause bugs on one system and not another I wonder....?